No Agreement on Polk County School Worker Pay; Issue Will Head to Magistrate

Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy will meet with AFSCME president Larry Milhorn this week.

CALVIN KNIGHT | THE LEDGER

By MERISSA GREENTHE LEDGER

Published: Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 11:28 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 11:28 p.m.

BARTOW | Leaders with The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees were not able to reach an agreement on salary with the Polk County School District earlier this month, and the issue will now head to a special magistrate for a recommendation.

The magistrate will listen to each side's arguments and make a recommendation to the School Board for consideration. No date has been set for the magistrate hearing.

Last fall, district officials reached an agreement with the teachers union to give those in the classroom salary raises, and that move, district officials say, has caused a budget shortfall. District officials have yet to give raises to nonunion employees and to those represented by the AFSCME.

AFSCME has 2,400 members, who include custodians, bus drivers and attendants and school food service workers.

"The most important issue we have discussed over the past eight months are economic in nature and concern the problematic fiscal reality and forecast for the 2012-2013 and 2013-14 school years. Despite the request for what would now be retroactive salary increased for the 2012-13 school year, the School District has not been, nor is now, in the financial position to offer an improvement to the salary levels currently in place in the ... collective bargaining agreements."

Audra Curts, the district's interim assistant superintendent of business services, agrees. "We were talking informally, and they wanted to know what 1 percent cost," she said.

That would have equaled $600,000 for the group.

Milhorn said district officials should have factored in that amount when budget cuts were made in recent months to make up an $18 million shortfall to cover teacher pay raises.

"I think they can find the money," he said. "I'm not sure that they don't have it. They kept leading us on that they could find the money."

Milhorn said he hopes new Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy can fix what he calls problems in the finance department. He's planning to meet with her Tuesday.

"I'm just going to let her know how I feel the way things are going," he said.

[ Merissa Green can be reached at merissa.green@theledger.com or 863-802-7547.

<p>BARTOW | Leaders with The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees were not able to reach an agreement on salary with the Polk County School District earlier this month, and the issue will now head to a special magistrate for a recommendation.</p><p>The magistrate will listen to each side's arguments and make a recommendation to the School Board for consideration. No date has been set for the magistrate hearing.</p><p>Last fall, district officials reached an agreement with the teachers union to give those in the classroom salary raises, and that move, district officials say, has caused a budget shortfall. District officials have yet to give raises to nonunion employees and to those represented by the AFSCME.</p><p>AFSCME has 2,400 members, who include custodians, bus drivers and attendants and school food service workers.</p><p>In a letter to AFSCME president Larry Milhorn, Denny Dunn, the district's assistant superintendent of human resources, explained why salary adjustments can't be made.</p><p>"The most important issue we have discussed over the past eight months are economic in nature and concern the problematic fiscal reality and forecast for the 2012-2013 and 2013-14 school years. Despite the request for what would now be retroactive salary increased for the 2012-13 school year, the School District has not been, nor is now, in the financial position to offer an improvement to the salary levels currently in place in the ... collective bargaining agreements."</p><p>Audra Curts, the district's interim assistant superintendent of business services, agrees. "We were talking informally, and they wanted to know what 1 percent cost," she said.</p><p>That would have equaled $600,000 for the group.</p><p>Milhorn said district officials should have factored in that amount when budget cuts were made in recent months to make up an $18 million shortfall to cover teacher pay raises.</p><p>"I think they can find the money," he said. "I'm not sure that they don't have it. They kept leading us on that they could find the money."</p><p>Milhorn said he hopes new Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy can fix what he calls problems in the finance department. He's planning to meet with her Tuesday.</p><p>"I'm just going to let her know how I feel the way things are going," he said.</p><p>[ Merissa Green can be reached at merissa.green@theledger.com or 863-802-7547.</p>